Blown head gasket.

[diew]

1985 SeaRay 230. chevy 350 . Was running boat and went through some sea weed. About 5-10 minutes later the boat started running sluggish. I noticed that the temp was about 260 degrees so i quickly shut it off. I opened the engine compartment and a lot of steam came out. the next day i started the boat up and it ran like normal. I checked the oil and it looked a little like chocolate milk, also, the breather tubes from the valve covers had whitish-brown foam coming out. I'm pretty sure i blew a head gasket and water is getting into the oil. My question is, can you still run the engine with a blown head gasket? I'm probably going to replace the engine but i still want to run the engine as long as possible. I ran the engine out of the water for about 10 minutes and the temp seemed fine. It also feels like the engine still has plenty of power. Will the engine run fine, then all of a sudden seize up? Or are there signs that show when the engine is about to seize?<br /><br />thanks. <br />sorry for long post

 

[achris]

Re: Blown head gasket.

My question is, can you still run the engine with a blown head gasket?

Only if you wish to replace the engine very soon. The water in the oil will damage bearings, pistons, cylinder walls not to mention all the valve gear (cam, rods, lifters and valve stems). You'll probably find that the water impeller is fried because of a lack of water and also the water pocket cover at the bottom of the driveshaft housing could also be distorted.<br /><br />Chris.....

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Blown head gasket.

You are now lubricating the internal parts of your engine with latte, only good for italian motors. Not good for chevys. Your choice but if it was me I wouldn't run it. <br /><br />When the engine siezes it all too late - full rebuild. If you want to save money fix it now (it may already be too late). Good luck.<br /><br />Aldo<br /><br />EDIT: hey Chris, how is ya?

 

[deputydawg]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Definatelyu do not run the engine with a bad head gasket if it is leaking water into the oil. What will happen is this (not necessarily in this order) engine will run hot, bearings will seize most likely destroying the crank shaft, connecting rods, and possibly the block, cam bearings will probably be destroyed possibly taking the cam with them, and finally you may be leaking water into a cylinder. The water won't burn so it sits on the top of the cylinder eventually leaking down into the crank case. If the cylinder fills too quickly it will "hydrolic" the engine or fill the cylinder with water to the point the engine will not turn over. Most likely this will happen after you run it a while then shut it off like to stop and fish. Then when you try to start it, it will act like a dead battery, won't turn over. It is quite possible that the torque of the starter will bend a rod. The worst thing that could happen is the cylinder will fill with water as it is running, break a rod, throw the rod through the side of the blosk spraying oil and water everywhere. <br />Either way unless you plan on getting stranded and replacing the entire engine, fix it now.<br />Being a GM it probably has a warped head along with the head gasket. Take the heads off and have them checked at a machine shop. Or if confident with your mechanical abilities check yourself, not recommended. They will probably have a slight warp or bend to them. Also need to check the engine for cracks. Spend the money now, and save a bunch later. Then be sure to flush the engine block out good to get rid of all of the oil. <br />I would even recommend a complete rebuild now, but that is expensive. <br />Also remember that (at least in cars) the water temp guage only reads water. if tghe block has low or no water in it, the guage will either not read at all or will read false, usually low. <br />Also don't forget what they said about the water pump in the lower unit.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Originally posted by Dunaruna:<br /> You are now lubricating the internal parts of your engine with latte, only good for italian motors .

Chuckle, chuckle!

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Looks as if Dunaruna has seen some of them 'Italian Motors' before.<br /><br />We must NOT chuckle (not loud anyway)<br /><br />Peter

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Some lattes' are good for motors. For instance, Lavazza brand coffee makes a great latte (equivilent to mobil-one ) whereas the cheaper Brazilian brands will chew ya bearings up in no time.<br /><br /> Now a short black is great for flushing the galleries - but thats another story.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[achris]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Hi Aldo/John,<br /><br />Will post in Dockside.<br /><br />Chris.........

 

[rtfolse]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Not only should you replace the head gasket, you should think out longer term solutions. Whenever I have blown a head gasket in a car, just taking that in and saying "fix it" can run up to almost the price of a new engine. If "all" you have is a head gasket, you are "lucky". But most of the time the head is damaged so now you have gasket, and headwork, and if then head is damaged too badly a new head and they may not accept or be able to use your old core. I have seen how they remanufacture heads, and it is not very good. At this point I almost always choose a new entire long block as it is just about a few hundred bucks more than just the head gasket, and new head.<br /><br />You may consider just having a new 350 crate engine from GM installed, the crate engine is about $1400 with all new parts, labor is about $1000 and for about this you are all good to go. Remember, what caused the gasket to blow in the first place? Probably corrosion and so on caused your head gasket to let go on one side, so what condition is the gasket in on the other side? If you pay $800 to fix just the one side, will the other side blow right away? <br /><br />I dunno, but IMHO I hate to put money into fixing an old engine part by part, I prefer to spend a little more to get a zero time engine as this is less money in the long run. A lot of the cost of repacing a head gasket is just labor (unless you warped or destroyed the head). With cars, remanufactured is a cheap alternative, but with the Chevy 350, the new from GM crate engine is the same or less than even a remanufactured engine so it is a choice worth considering. <br /><br />Either way, you have no time left to use the engine you have, repair or replace is your best choice.

 

[RedRangerVIP]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Sounds like when you went thru the seaweed it clogged the water intake. No circulation of water, the engine overheats.<br /> I'd try doing a compression test, if you got a low cyl or two, your probably right about the head gasket. Change the gasket , try it. If it overheats still, you can go the other route.<br /> Just my opinion.<br /> Good Luck!<br /><br />Larry

 

[diew]

Re: Blown head gasket.

thanks for all the info...I have come to the conclusion that i'm going to replace the engine anyway with a rebuilt one for around 900$....Now i just wanna run it into the ground. The thing thats kinda wierd, is that i've run the engine for about 2 hours now and it seems fine. Maybe i'm thinking too hard and the oil is actually not chocolaty...even though it does have 2 kinds of brown in it. Does anyone have a picture of what chocolatey oil looks like? <br /><br />thanks. <br /><br />are there any other ways to check if you have a blown head gasket besides the milky oil test?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Blown head gasket.

are there any other ways to check if you have a blown head gasket besides the milky oil test?

try doing a compression test, if you got a low cyl or two, your probably right about the head gasket.

 

[Don S]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Does anyone have a picture of what chocolatey oil looks like?

It looks like coffee with cream in it.

 

[cc lancer]

Re: Blown head gasket.

Pull each of the spark plugs, lay them in a row, check to see if any of the electrodes looks different from the others. If you run it for ten minutes and shut it down, one of the electrodes may have some surface rust. Now spin the engine over then check each plug hole and see if any water came out.<br />If you don't see anything out of the ordinary go to Wally world, buy their oil and a filter, drain the gunk out of the engine and put in the new oil and filter and run it for at least 20 minutes checking the oil, every few minutes, it will clear up in a few minutes or start discoloring again.<br />The gunk that is in the engine now is going to stop up the oil going to the crank and you will spin a bearing. Good Luck!!

 

[diew]

Re: Blown head gasket.

A compression test can see if there is a blown head gasket??? If the head gasket is the gasket between the head and the block, and the pistions always stay in the head, never going into the block, then how would a compression test help? No pressure would be put on the gasket.

 

[qaztwo]

Re: Blown head gasket.

You got it backwards diew, the piston move up and down in the block.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Blown head gasket.

It would indicate 2 adjacant cylinders with low pressure.the head gasket can blow between the cylinder or into the water jackets.

 

[deputydawg]

Re: Blown head gasket.

If you are still getting water in the oil you should find a ring of white to gray slime around both the filler cap and the top of the dipstick. <br />On vehicles we do a presure test on the cooling system. I am sure you can do this to your system. Check aound and see. You will need to pressurize your cooling system and see if and where you lose pressure.<br />Are you sure the engine did not have water in the oil before this incident? It did not have a cap left off during a rain or something? If it was as bad as you dscribe, but is fine now, something else is wrong. Engines will not cure themselves. It may be a very slow water leak that you did not notice until that incident?<br />Good luck!